Paper-based computing company Livescribe has announced the Livescribe 3, the latest version of its popular Bluetooth smartpen for iOS devices. The smartpen includes an ARM 9 processor inside and a high speed infrared camera at the top, along with an on/off twist ring and a lithium ion battery that lasts up to 14 hours.

Elevate Your Writing
From the integrated stylus cap to the Swiss-made tungsten-carbide ballpoint ink cartridge, the Livescribe 3 smartpen is a statement of elegant design that delivers the experience of a premium writing instrument.

Putting The Smart in Smartpen
The streamlined design of the Livescribe 3 smartpen conceals an astonishing amount of technology. An infrared camera, ARM processor, Bluetooth Smart chipset, flash memory and lithium ion battery all work together to bring your notes to life on your tablet or smartphone.

Not Just Bluetooth, Bluetooth Smart
Bluetooth Smart wireless technology allows your Livescribe 3 smartpen to quickly and easily pair to your tablet or smartphone. It also extends the battery life, giving you over 14 hours of continuous writing between charges.

The Livescribe 3 is also accompanied by the new Livescribe+ app [Direct Link], which works with the pen to recognize different types of handwriting on Livescribe paper, including tasks, reminders, contacts, and calendar events that can be shared to services such as Dropbox and iCloud, and imported into iOS apps such as Reminders and Maps. The app also includes a Find My Pen function which causes the device to emit a noise when prompted, a MyScript transcription option, and a view option named "the Feed" that groups relevant notes together.

The Livescribe 3 is avaliable in two versions, including a standard edition that comes with the pen, a starter notebook and a ballpoint ink cartrige for $149.95, and a Pro Edition that includes the pen, a bigger journal, a leather portfolio, two ballpoint ink cartriges and one year of Evernote Premium for $199.95. Both versions along with additional accessories for the smartpen are avaliable to purchase on Livescribe's official website.

Because if you don't use paper, there won't be trees. All the paper you use was made out of trees grown to be paper. The tree farmer has to feed his family, and if he can't sell the trees he is growing on his land, he'll sell his land to some developer who will cut down the trees and put in a shopping mall. There are more trees in North America now than there were 100 years ago.

Interesting post, though probably not what the tree-huggers here want to hear.

Interesting post, though probably not what the tree-huggers here want to hear.

Says more about you using a stupid term as tree hugger than someone who has the common sense to not cut down a tree for no good reason other than a farmer needs something to do.

Also the argument about more trees is misleading. It takes 20 years for a new tree to give the same benefits as a mature tree already in place.

However environmental reasons are only one point this tech is outdated. A said by others writing notes just get cluttered up in an in-tray. Only when a hardcopy is strictly needed would I have one and then id still rather to create directly to my device and print.

Also for art a paper copy may no transfer properly and mistakes or corrections or alterations are messy and can ruin work where as if direct to a device you can erase and alter easilly.

The last time I tried this device, there was no conversion capability between handwriting and typed text. Does anyone know if that's changed? Otherwise, between the lack of that feature and the necessity for paper, I doubt I'll bother. Most executives (the group I support) are interested in carrying less items, not more. They'll go so far as carrying a pen, but a laptop/tablet plus paper? Not going to happen.

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